CLT20 as it happened: Titans beat Brisbane in low-scoring thriller

[caption id=“attachment_1130575” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  De Villiers evades a bouncer during the match with CSK. BCCI[/caption] Brisbane 119 all out after 20 overs McDermott b de Lange 2 (3b, 0x4, 0x6) Gale run out 1 (2b, 0x4, 0x6) Sabburg run out 19 (7b, 2x4, 1x6) Hartley b Morkel 7 (5b, 1x4, 0x6) Lynn c van der Merwe b Wiese 14 (17b, 1x4, 0x6) Hopes c de Villiers b van der Merwe 37 (44b, 4x4, 0x6) What a thriller this one ended out to be! Brisbane chose to bowl first and Hopes will be disappointed his batting side couldn’t capitalise and chase down a very easy target in T20 terms. But that’d be unfair to how well the Titans have bowled and fielded. They didn’t mess up a single catch and were sharp all over. Henry Davids very bubbly at the post-match interview and why not — there was a chance the match was going to a super over with Brisbane needing a four to equal scores at the last ball. However, De Lange knocked out McDermott’s stumps and that’s that. Brisbane 78-4 after 15 overs - Christian b Richards 21 (24b, 0x4, 1x6): Bowled him! Middle-stump’s gone as Christian misses a fuller delivery and Richards gets an important breakthrough — breaking the 44-run partnership between Christian and Hopes. Lynn is out to bat now and has already scored a four through midwicket. Brisbane 52-3 after 10 overs: One four and one six, that’s all that has come in the form of quick runs for Brisbane, but credit to Hopes (28 in 32) and Christian (13 in 12) for holding fort under pressure. They’ve avoided taking any risk at all and even the running has been cautious. Maybe we’ll see them power on after the 12th or 13th over. Brisbane 24-3 after five overs Burns c de Lange b Richards 0 (7b, 0x4, 0x6) Forrest c Behardien b de Lange 8 (7b, 2x4, 0x6) Cutting c Rudolph b de Lange 0 (2b, 0x4, 0x6) Well, looks like the Titans are in this after all. They’ve managed to scalp three of Brisbane’s top order — only Forrest troubling the scorers among them before being caught at square-leg. Burns’ flick was taken after an edge and Cutting didn’t look like he knew which shot he wanted to play while giving a catch at covers. Brisbane need 124 runs to beat Titans Titans 123 all out in 18.5 overs Wiese c Sabburg b Christian 5 (4b, 1x4, 0x6) Mosehle c Cutting b Christian 6 (9b, 1x4, 0x6) Behardien c Hauritz b Gale 9 (15b, 0x4, 0x6) Morkel c Hartley b Gale 0 (1b, 0x4, 0x6) Richards c & b Gale 0 (2b 0x4 0x6) That’s a whole lot of wickets at the death, and not a lot of runs. After losing the big names, Titans simply collapsed — losing five wickets in 3.5 overs and adding just 14 runs to their total. It’s complete injustice to the sort of start they had — but well, that’s T20 for you. Matthew Gale is Brisbane’s hero, with figures of 4/10 in 2.5 overs. Titans 109-5 after 15 overs AB de Villiers run out 28 (19b, 4x4, 0x6) van der Merwe c Burns b Hauritz 0 (2b, 0x4, 0x6) Davids run out 39 (31b, 5x4, 1x6) Titans have paid the price for poor communication out in the middle. First Davids and then De Villiers — who had just got going with four cracking boundaries — were run out. Van der Merwe tries to clear the offside but finds the fielder. Titans still have a good cushion, but they may rue the loss of De Villiers and Davids at crucial moments. Titans 74-2 after 10 overs - Kuhn c Christian b Cutting 31 (27b, 6x4, 0x6): Kuhn gets slightly greedy, tying to pull away at a length ball. He mistimes it, gets a thick edge which flies high into the air before landing in Christians waiting palms. That was a fine partnership of 69 runs between him and Davids, who’s looking good on 39 from 30 balls — his massive six being the highlight of the match so far. Titans 32-1 after five overs - Rudolph c Sabburg b Gale 1 (3b, 0x4, 0x6): Excellent recovery from Titans after losing a wicket as early as the second over, when Rudolph’s drive found the fielder at point. Since then, both Davids and Kuhn have played some mean shots — not big slogs, but wily drives and flicks to find regular fours. They’re both on 14 runs. Toss: Brisbane win the toss and will bowl first. There has been no reduction in overs. 1605: Images on TV show that the groundsmen are still clearing pools of water from the ground. And it doesn’t look like the sun is going to break through the clouds any moment in Mohali. But play is very much possible. It’s raining in Mohali and there will be a delayed start. Keep checking here for regular updates. Brisbane Heat (from): J Hopes, J Burns, D Christian, B Cutting, P Forrest, M Gale, C Gannon, C Hartley†, N Hauritz, A Kemp, C Lynn, A McDermott, D Michael, K Roach, C Sabburg Titans (from): H Davids, F Behardien, M de Lange, AB de Villiers, C de Villiers, H Kuhn, E Links, N Mbhalati, M Morkel, M Mosehle, R Richards, J Rudolph, G van Buuren, R van der Merwe, D Wiese